What is spearfishing and whaling and why is it so dangerous? There are several ways to catch a fish with a net that is indiscriminate and attempts to catch anything or by using a spear and targeting a certain fish directly. And then you have the brave that may attempt whaling or the opportunity to catch the big fish. These are the exact analogies that fishing and spearfishing email attacks take. Spear phishing is used by cyber criminals when they're attempting to attack a specific individual or want to use that individual as a conduit into the organisation.
The purpose of the attack is the same as with any phishing email, to gain access to login or confidential information or to deliver malware. But in this instance, the attack is targeted at the individual. In recent years, there have been many high-profile data breaches, for example, JP Morgan, Siemens.
And targets data breaches are all attributed to spear phishing attacks. The perpetrators manage to glean the logging details of an email account or network credentials that allow them to extract sensitive information from the company either directly or through the use of malware once it's inside the network. In some cases the targets are smaller companies that trade with those larger corporations playing on the fact that smaller companies may not have the same security infrastructure or employee awareness to combat such an attack. Whatever size your organisation is, be aware that it and you may be the subject of an attack.
The emails look real, the sender address may look real, the subject matter may be relevant and topical to activities the company is currently engaged in. Knowing a name and having researched a target, it is then down to crafting an email to look like it's internal and asking the target to reset a password. and offering them a link to do so.
Requesting a current and new password or alternatively asking them to download a security patch that is actually spyware. If the target takes the bait, then the attacker is on the way to having the access desired. In the scenario where the target is a network administrator, then the access could open the floodgates to many internal systems. I also mentioned a whaling attack. This is when the target is at the top of the organisation.
a C-level executive or maybe even a board member. As an employee, it's important to be vigilant when receiving emails that require you to take a specific action. Looking for unusual language and vocabulary or misspelt words will help you defend the organisation from becoming the next victim of the cyber criminal.
If you're in any doubt about the authenticity of an email or a request, then contact your IT security team and ask for their assistance. They may even have training and awareness programs that you can participate in, in order to be better prepared and educated on how to spot a spear phishing attack. For more business, cyber security tips and tricks, check out welivesecurity.com